Improvement in washing-machines



JAMES M.- KIMBALL. imp ovement in Washing-'MachineS.

Patentd May 2,1871.

italia trta naar can JAMES Munson IIIMBAIIL,

or woonsroon, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent No. 114,305, dated May 2, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN WASHING-MACHINES.

The Schedule referred t0 in these Letters Patent and making part f the same.

To all whom. it may concern i Be it known that I, J Mns Mormon KIMBALL, of Woodstock, in the county of McHenry and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Washing-Machine; and 'I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip. tion thereof', which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a top view of my improved machine.

Figure 2 is a det-ail vertical section ofv the same taken through the line x x, tig. l.

Similar letters of `reference indicate corresponding parts.

My invention has for its object to furnish animproved clothes-washing machine which shall be simple `and inexpensive in construction, convenient in use, easily operated, and effective in operation, washing the clot-hes quickly and thoroughly, and without injuring them in the least; and

' It consists in the construction' and combination of' the various parts -of the machine, as hereinafter more fully described.

A is the tub or body ofthe Inachine,'whioh is made of staves, aud is supported upon legs B of suoli a length as to raise the machine to a convenient height.

Two or more of the staves of the tub A project above the top of said tub, and to them is attached a board, C, for the attachment of a wringer when requiredf D1 D2 D is the cover, which is made in three parts, the narrow side parts DFDs being attached permanently to the top ofthe tub A, and the central main part I)Z being hinged at one of its side edges to one of the parts Dl Dzfas D3.

E isr a short vertical shaft, which' passes down through the center of the part D ofthe cover, .to which t is' secured by a collar-box, F, secured to the lower side of said cover by screws or bolts.v l

To the lower end of the shaft E are attached the centers of two cross-arms or bars, G, one of which is made longer than the other. To the four ends of the arms or` bars G are attached the upper ends of the bars or paddles H, which are slotted or mortised longitudinally, as shown in tig. 2, so that as the said arms or paddles are carried around through the water by 4the revolution of the shaft E the lwater may pour through the said slots or mortises upon the clothes, and thus hasten the operation'ot' cleaning them.

The slots or mortises in the arms or paddles H enable them to pass through the water more easily, as they do not have to push so large a body of water before them.`

To the upper end of the shaft E is attached a small gear-wheel, Ithe teeth of which mesh into the teeth of the larger gear-wheel J attached to the vertical-shaft K.

" The upper end of the central shaft E passes through the center of the three-armed plate L, so that the said shaft may have 'a bearing above and below the small gear-wheel I.

The three-armed plate L is secured tothe upper side of the part D2 of the cover' by two screws or bolts, which pass through the ends of Y its opposite ends.

The shaft K, just above the gear-wheel J, passes through and revolves in the end of the third arm of the three-armed plate L.

The lower end of the shaft K revolves in a socket or step in the part D2 of the cover, so that it may have a bearing above and below the gear-wheel J.

The shaft K is further supported in-a vertical position by the three-armed brace M.

Arlhe upper end of the shaft K is squared o" for some inches, and is made .slightly tapering to receive the hand-bar or lever N, which hastwo or more holes of different sizes formed in it near its center, so that by passing the upper end of the shaft K through a larger or smaller hole of the bar or lover N the said bar or lever may be adj usted higher or lower, according to the 'height of the operator. The machine is operated by oscillating the lever N, or by turning it through an entire levolution.

The shaft KV should be' made of such a'length as to support the part D2 of the cover, and the attached gearing when turned back, for putting in and taking out the clothes.

The bar or lever N may be used as a clothes-stick for passing the clothes to the wringer when a wringer is used.

Having thus described my invention,

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentv 1. The slotted or mortised bars or paddles H and cross-arms G, in combination with the vertical shaft E to which they are attached, and with the tub A in which they work, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose setforth.

2. An improved washing-machine formed by the combination of the tub A B, cover D D2 D3, short vertical central shaft E, collar-box F, cross-arms Gr, slotted or mortised arms or paddles H, gear-wheels I J, vertical shaft K, three-armed plate L, brace M,

'and adjustable bar or lever N with each other, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth. y

' JAMES MNROE KIMBALL.

Witnesses:

L. J. Yonne, Anios K. BUNKVER. 

